balancer

balancer — noun

1. a person or thing that keeps something steady, or that makes two or more amounts

1.nounC1
Definition

a person or thing that keeps something steady, or that makes two or more amounts equal so that one side does not become too strong.

Example

Trang stood on the high wire as a skilled balancer above the silent crowd.

person who keeps their body steady

The heavy battery acts as a balancer at the back of the small electric car.

thing that keeps an object steady

Common collocations
  • skilled balancer
  • natural balancer
  • act as a balancer
Synonyms
  • stabilizer

    more technical; usually a device or part rather than a person

  • mediator

    only for the human sense of settling differences between people

Antonyms
  • disruptor

    someone or something that upsets a steady state rather than keeping it

Usage Note

Often follows a describing word that names what is kept steady or equal (a natural balancer, a skilled balancer, the perfect balancer).

Common Mistakes

She is a balancer person on the team.
She is the balancer on the team.
'balancer' is already a noun for the person, so do not add 'person' after it.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All three describe something that keeps a situation steady, but they differ in what they act on. A balancer is the broadest word: it can be a person who steadies their own body, an object whose weight keeps something level, or a force that makes two amounts equal. A stabilizer is usually a device or fixed part — the small wheels on a child's bicycle, or a fin on a ship — and rarely refers to a person. A mediator works only between people, helping two sides settle a disagreement, and never refers to a physical object. So a circus performer is a balancer, the extra weight in a boat is a stabilizer, and the neighbour who calms a family quarrel is a mediator.

balancer ↗stabilizer ↗mediator ↗

Common collocations

Phrases

  • act as a balancer
  • a natural balancer

Prepositions

  • balancer between
  • balancer for

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Formed from the verb 'balance' plus the ending '-er', which turns an action into the person or thing that does it. 'Balance' itself came into English through French from a Latin phrase describing a pair of scales with two pans, the classic image of two sides held equal.

First known use

15th century

15th century, in the meaning defined above